Collision Claims

Covers: Your insured vehicle, regardless of driver or fault.

Pays physical damages to your insured vehicle when actual contact takes place, less your deductible.

Rental car provided from your policy only if you have rental reimbursement coverage.

Policy coverage: Collision – If the other party is at fault , you may consider filing a property damage claim against their liability policy. (See Property Damage Claims – Liability)

It is your responsibility to move your vehicle to the repair shop of your choice and you are not required to wait on the insurance company to do this. However, the insurance company does have the right to inspect the damages and the repair shop will not begin repairs without an authorized estimate. If your vehicle was towed to the repair shop, the shop will pay the charges and add it to the cost of repair. Only you, as the vehicle owner, can authorize the repairs. The repair shop will ask you to sign an authorization of repair. (See Body Shops & Repair)
If your vehicle is safe to drive, it will be required that you continue to drive the vehicle until the repair shop has ordered all the parts and ready to begin repairs. Please note: This is only if you are making a claim for a rental car.

After reporting the claim to the insurance company it will be assigned to a Claims Adjuster to begin the claims process. A statement of the accident will be required from all parties involved and an investigation of coverage and liability will be conducted. Once all statements, coverage, liability and the estimate of damages have been completed, your claim can be evaluated and paid. Please note: Liability plays no role in paying the damages to your vehicle. (See Claims Adjuster – Determining Liability)

The Claims Adjuster will assign an Appraiser to inspect the damages and write an estimate of repair. The Appraiser estimate is what will be considered the authorized repair and the repair shop will work from this estimate. There is no need to obtain multiple estimates. If the Appraiser didn’t allow for certain repairs, the repair shop will fax a Supplement to the Appraiser to re-inspect the vehicle for the additional damages. This is very common and expected. (See The Appraiser)